Bottle closure



Dec. 5, 1933.

J. P. BURKE BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Oct. 31, 1931 gme/wto o 96 M1 4.

Patented Dec. 5, 1933 1,938,373 Bo'r'rLE CLOSURE James P. Burke, Wayne, N. 3;,assignor, by direct and mesne assignments, to Armstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application October 31,1931. Serial No. 572,352

5 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle closures having a dauber or applicator attached to the closure. It has particular reference to closures for bottles containing shoe polish and is described in connection with such use although it can be used with any closure to which an applicator is attached. Ordinarily, liquid shoe polish is put up in bottles sealed by a cork from which depends a Wire rod carrying a sponge or dauber. Closures of this type are objectionable because the wire tends to split the cork and also because the cork sticks in the bottle and can be Withdrawn only by the application of force. The force which must be applied to the closure to withdraw it from the bottle is generally suflicient to spatter the shoe polish over the person opening the bottle. It is also impossible to reseal the bottle after the stopper has been removed and reinserted several times. It has also been suggested to use metallic caps having attached thereto lugs of wood or cork in which the end of the applicator is secured. Closures of this type are expensive and are unsatisfactory in service because the lug may become separated from the metallic cap after a short period of use.

It is an object of my invention to provide a closure of this character in which the rod to which the dauber is attached will have a strong and rigid connection with the closure. A further object of my invention is to provide a closure which will effectively seal the contents of the bottle but will be easy to remove Without any danger of spattering the contents because of sticking or undesirable frictional adhesion of the closure to the bottle. A further object of my invention is to provide a closure which will be inexpensive to manufacture and which may be used repeatedly during the life of the bottle without losing any of its sealing qualities.

Molded screw closures are old per se. However, it has been impossible up to the present time to secure in such closures a wire rod, such as the shank to which a shoe dauoer is attached, in a positive and permanent manner. It is impossible to secure the metal to the molded closure except at a prohibitive cost. It is a further object of my invention to provide a simple and cheap means for securing the wire rod to the closure in such a manner that it will not become loose.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts,

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing my closure with the wire rod attached thereto; and

Figure 2 is a fragmental cross-sectional view tion of the rod in greater detail, particularly to illustrate the means for securing the rod to the closure.

In the drawing, 10 indicates a molded cap having a depending flange 11, the inner surface of which is screw threaded as at 12. The cap may be of any suitable phenolic condensation prodnot or similar material. A closure 10 has formed integrally therewith a depending lug 13 recessed as at 14 to receive the upper end of the wire rod 15. The rod 15 is bent at its lower extremity, as at 16, to provide means for holding a suitable dauber (not shown). The upper end of the wire rod 15 is slightly flattened as at 17. This fiattened portion 17 serves to retain in place on the wire rod 15 a loosely mounted deformable metal sleeve 18. The outer diameter of the sleeve 18 corresponds substantially to the diameter on the recess 14 in the lug 13. The sleeve 18 has a shoulder 19 adapted to fit against the lower face 01" the lug 13. The closure is also provided with a sealing gasket 20 which may be made of cork composition or any similar material.

The cap is molded in any desired size or design and is then lined with a suitable sealing disk. The flattened end 1'7 of the wire rod 15 is inserted in the recess 14 and the sleeve 18 is then driven into the recess 14 until the shoulder 19 lies adjacent the surface of the lug 13. The flattened portion 17 is wider than the inner diameter of the sleeve 18 and, therefore, when the sleeve is driven in place its end is deformed by the portion 17 of the wire rod. This deformation of the sleeve takes place at the end adjacent the closed end of the recess in the lug 13 and serves to strengthen the connection between the sleeve and the cap so that the wire rod cannot be displaced in service.

My closure is attached to the bottle only by the screw threads 12 which engage with suitable threads or projections on the outer surface of the neck of the bottle to which it is attached. The sealing disk 20 keeps the liquid within the bottle. This will keep the closure clean and will prevent any undesirable sticking. The lug 13 is narrower than the mouth of the bottle and will ofier no resistance to removal of the closure.

It will be seen that I have provided emcient and economical means for permanently fastening a wire rod to a molded closure. Although I have described an embodiment of my invention with particular reference to closures for bottles containing liquid shoe polish, it will be understood that my invention is not limited thereto and may be used in any closure to which an applicator of any type is attached.

Having described my, invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bottle closure comprising a molded screw threaded cap having a depending lug provided with a recess therein and a wire rod flattened at one end and having a metal sleeve adapted to secure the flattened end of the Wire rod in the recess in the lug.

2. A molded cap having a thickened central portion provided with a recess extending into but not therethrough, a wire rod having aradial enlargement on one end thereof adapted tofit loosely in said recess and means on said rod to secure the radially enlarged end of the rod in the recess.

3. A bottle closure consisting of a molded cap having a depending flange threaded internally and an integral thickened central portion provided with a recess, a sealing disk surrounding said. thickened portion, a thin rod flattened at one end adapted to fit freely in said recess and a metal sleeve mounted on said rod adapted to be driven into said recess to secure the rod in place in said thickened portion.

4. A molded closure comprising a cap having a thickened central portion provided with a recess extending into but not therethrough, a wire rod flattened at one end adapted to fit in said recess and deformable means on said rod adapted to be deformed by said flattened portion of 

